campus
Campus Safety Overview
Safety planning steps for students on college or university campuses.
campus safety
SAFETY
Campus Safety Overview
Quick Campus Safety Checklist
- Review your dorm room setup and privacy options.
- Learn how to contact campus security and how they operate.
- Look at your class schedule for possible safety adjustments.
- Plan safer routes and transportation options on and off campus.
- Consider how campus safety steps fit into any broader safety plan.
Additional tools and professional supports connected to college and community safety can also be found through resources listed at DV.Support.
Dorm Safety
Room Setup and Access
- Check door and window locks to understand how they work.
- Ask housing staff about:
- Door viewers or peepholes
- Secondary locks or door braces (if allowed)
- Policies on changing or rekeying locks
- Keep a routine for:
- Locking your door when you are inside
- Locking your door when you leave, even briefly
- Closing windows when you are gone or asleep, as possible
- Decide what you are comfortable sharing with roommates about:
- Visitors you do or do not want in the room
- Sharing keys or keycards (if any)
- Posting your schedule or travel dates
Roommate and Guest Policies
- Review written policies on:
- Overnight guests
- Key or keycard lending
- Unauthorized entry
- Consider setting boundaries with roommates about:
- Who is allowed in the room and when
- Not letting certain people wait for you in the room
- How to handle unexpected visitors at the door
- Decide how you want roommates to respond if:
- Someone comes to the door asking for you
- Someone tries to get your schedule or location from them
Housing Changes and Privacy
- Ask housing about options such as:
- Room changes within the same building
- Moving to a different building or floor
- Single-room options, if available
- Confirm what information housing staff can share with:
- Other students
- Anyone asking for your room number or building
- Review mail and package procedures:
- Where your mail is stored
- How packages are picked up
- Whether your full name and room number are publicly visible
Using Campus Security
Understanding Campus Security Services
- Locate:
- Non-emergency campus security phone number
- Emergency call options from campus phones
- Any campus safety app or text-based service
- Check if campus security offers:
- Escort services at night
- Building walk-throughs on request
- Help with no-contact directives or trespass notices
- Assistance documenting incidents for campus records
- Ask how they coordinate with local law enforcement and what that might involve.
Planning How and When to Contact Security
- Decide in advance:
- What kinds of situations you might call campus security about
- What basic information you are comfortable giving
- Whether there are locations on campus you want extra patrols near
- Store security contact details in your phone under names you can easily recognize.
- Find out:
- Where security offices are located
- Whether there are public safety phones or blue-light stations nearby
Campus security has specific policies and limits. Asking questions ahead of time can help you understand what they can and cannot do in different situations.
Class Schedule Adjustments
Reviewing Your Current Schedule
- Look at:
- Times of your earliest and latest classes
- Buildings you attend, and how isolated they feel
- Gaps between classes where you might be waiting alone
- Note any patterns that might make it easier for someone to:
- Know exactly where you will be
- Wait for you outside regular classes
- Identify classes that consistently require walking in the dark or through areas that feel less monitored.
Possible Schedule Changes
- Check with academic advising or your department about options to:
- Switch to sections at different times
- Move to classes in different buildings when possible
- Take remote or hybrid sections, if offered
- Ask instructors or advisers about:
- Attendance policies and flexibility
- Alternatives for office hours (online, phone, or different locations)
- Consider whether having:
- Back-to-back classes in the same area
- Longer blocks of free time on certain days
Sharing Limited Information About Concerns
- Decide who on campus you are comfortable telling about safety-related schedule needs, such as:
- Academic advisers
- Disability or accommodations offices
- Certain instructors
- Prepare a brief description of your needs that does not share more detail than you want.
- Ask how any documentation or notes about your situation will be stored and who can access it.
Transportation Safety
On-Campus Movement
- Map out:
- Well-lit walking routes
- Main paths with more foot traffic
- Buildings that stay open later where you could wait inside if needed
- Check if your campus offers:
- Shuttle buses or vans, and their routes and times
- Night or weekend transportation services
- Ride-request options through a campus app
- Identify predictable points where someone could wait for you, such as:
- Regular bus stops
- Parking areas
- Building exits you use every day
Off-Campus Transportation
- List your usual transportation options:
- Public transit
- Rideshare or taxis
- Personal car or bike
- Riding with friends or classmates
- For each option, review:
- Where you usually wait or park
- How visible your arrival and departure times are
- Whether there are alternative pick-up or drop-off points
- Consider arranging:
- Alternative meeting spots that are less predictable
- Shared rides with classmates when it feels appropriate
- Back-up options if one method is not available
Parking and Vehicle Considerations
- Ask about:
- Parking lots or garages with better lighting or cameras
- Lots closer to main buildings or security posts
- Escorts from parking areas to residence halls or classrooms
- Decide whether to:
- Vary your parking spot within the same lot when possible
- Avoid posting your vehicle or license plate on public social media
- Check vehicle security basics:
- Locking doors and closing windows
- Keeping personal items and documents out of sight
- Knowing where your car keys and spares are stored
Integrating Campus Safety Into a Broader Plan
- Review how your:
- Dorm safety steps
- Campus security options
- Class schedule choices
- Transportation routines
- Note any areas where:
- Your schedule feels especially predictable
- You are often alone
- You rely on one single option without a backup
- Update your personal safety plan when:
- Your class schedule changes
- You move dorms or change roommates
- Campus transportation routes or hours shift
Campus safety measures can be adjusted over time. Reviewing them at the start of each term or after major changes can keep your plan current.